When the Time is Right
by RoganGirl13
Summary: Beth Cocoran moved back to Lima at the beginning of her sophomore year and is trying to track down her birth parents. What happens when she enlists the help of her guidance counselor who just so happens to be none other than Quinn Puckerman?
1. Prologue Part 1: Lima Loser

October 3, 2025

The last bell of the day rang and Quinn collapsed into her chair sending it rolling back about half an inch. She'd only been back from her maternity leave for two weeks, and already Quinn was looking forward to next summer. She loved her job, but when you spend all day with high-schoolers and then go home to two rambunctious little boys and a newborn baby who's not yet sleeping through the night, exhaustion tends to take over. Whenever people asked how she stayed so energetic, Quinn just smiled, not bothering to mention the waste basket full of empty coffee cups that sat under her desk.

Quinn often asked herself how in the world she got to where she was. She'd gone to Yale, for Pete's sake. _Yale_! And yet, here she was living the exact life she'd spent all of her high school years trying to avoid. There was no denying it anymore: Quinn Puckerman was a Lima Loser. But you know what? Quinn liked it that way. Puck, Liam, Gabriel, and that precious new baby girl were her entire world, and they made her realize that it didn't matter where she lived as long she had her family. It was totally cheesy, but it was still true.

So how exactly did Quinn Fabray end up being a Lima Loser? It all started just days after her graduation from Yale when she spontaneously hopped on a plane to go see New Directions compete in nationals in Washington D.C. At the time, she had no idea why she was going other than the fact that several other original New Directions kids would be there. She didn't find out until the post-competition dinner that night that it was Mr. Shue's last competition because he'd accepted a job in Cincinnati. Knowing that Quinn was planning on becoming a guidance counselor, Mr. Shue asked if she was applying for the now vacant position that his wife had once occupied. Never in a million years did Quinn imagine herself saying yes.

Two days later, Quinn found herself on a plane to Lima. Her mother met her at the airport, thrilled to have her youngest daughter back home. After she unpacked, Quinn went straight to McKinley High to fill out a job application. The very next day, she received a call from Mr. Figgins and was invited to come in for an interview. Less than a week later, she had the job. Once she had the job, everything else just sort of fell into place. She found a nice, affordable apartment just a few minutes down the road from her mother's house. She patched things up with her father,which was a miracle in and of itself. And most notably, she ran into Noah Puckerman. He offered to buy her dinner at Breadstix, for old time's sake. As luck would have it, things had fallen into place for Puck, too. His brother had convinced him to attend a two-year business college and with the knowledge he'd gained at school and help from brother Jake, Puck had somehow managed to turn Puckerman's Pool Cleaning into a franchise that spread all across the Midwest. He wasn't a millionaire, by any means, but for someone who barely graduated from high school, Noah Puckerman was doing alright.

Seeing each other again had dug up old feelings that neither of them could ignore. Before they knew it they both found themselves falling in love. They were different people than they were in high school and this time it just felt right. Within a year they were engaged and a year after that, they were married in a small ceremony attended only by their families, including their whole glee club family. Now seven years of marriage and three kids later, Quinn was perfectly content with being a Lima Loser. In fact, she no longer felt like a loser at all.

Quinn gazed wistfully at the family portrait on her desk. A quick glance at the clock on her computer screen informed that she had no more than three minutes before she absolutely had to leave in order to be on time for Liam's soccer practice. She quickly replied to one last email before standing up to leave. She was barely three steps out of her office door when she was approached by a student.

"Mrs. Puckerman, I was wondering if I could talk to you for just one quick minute. I know you're about to leave and I have to get to cheer-leading practice, so would you mind if we walk and talk?"

Normally in these situations, Quinn would tell the student to fill out a request form and let them know she would get back to them as soon as she could, but something about this girl made Quinn want to stop and listen. "Of course, sweetie. What's your name?" Quinn had to fight to keep her composure after hearing the girl's response: "I'm Beth Corcoran."

A/N So what do you think? I know it's pretty boring, so far, but I promise once I get all the back story stuff out of the way it'll pick up. Also, the reason I didn't mention the baby's name is because I haven't decided on one yet. I was going to with Lucy, but then I remembered that's Quinn's real name. Do you think I should still use it? If not, give me some suggestions! Please review and tell me what you think. Thanks. :)


	2. Prologue Part 2: Fresh Start

Summer 2025

"Well, that's the last box," said Shelby, wiping the sweat from her brow. "So what do you think? It's a nice place right?"Her daughter only mumbled, not looking away from her phone.

"Sweetie, I know it was hard leaving New York, but I had to do what was best for you."

"So I date one loser and to punish me you move us to some crappy little suburb in Ohio?"

"HEY! How do you think I felt coming to find a six-pack of beer on my kitchen table and my fifteen year old daughter sitting around with a bunch of potheads?!"

"They weren't potheads, Mom, I told you those were regular cigarettes!" Beth retorted.

"Well, you still shouldn't have been smoking in the apartment." Beth rolled her eyes. "Look, the point is you were getting mixed in with the wrong crowd and I didn't want to end up like- never mind." Shelby turned back to the box she was unpacking.

"End up like who Mom?" Beth inquired.

"Nobody, Beth. Forget it," replied her mother

"No, I'm not gonna forget it, Mom. Come on. Tell me," Beth urged. Shelby sighed. "Okay, I know I haven't told you much about your birth parents before and there's a reason for that." Beth nodded for her mother to continue. "They were great kids, but they were young and they both made some not so great decisions. When you were little, I swore to myself that I would do everything in my power to make sure you wouldn't turn the way they did. And yet, here you are..." Shelby trailed off, choking up.

"Well maybe if I knew about my parents, I would try a little harder not to turn out like them!" Beth snapped.

"Hey, I wanted them to be involved in your life alright? But like I said, they made stupid decisions and it just wasn't safe for you to be around them."

"You really think they would still be the same stupid kids they were fifteen years ago?"

"Well, no, but..."

"But WHAT, Mom?! What's the problem with me having a relationship with my own parents?"

"I just don't think I'M ready for that yet, OK?"

"Oh, of course, it's all about YOU just like everything else."

"Beth-"

"Forget it, Mom, I'm going for a walk." Beth slammed the front door behind her and Shelby put her head in her hands.

A/N I know this is short, but I wanted to give a little bit of Beth's side of the story because I probably won't be writing form her perspective very often. Next chapter will be longer, I promise. Thanks to those of you have followed and reviewed. It means a lot. :)


	3. Author's Note: I'm Back

Okay, I know it's been forever since the last update, so I really hope people are still interested in this story. The next chapter will be up tonight, I promise. But first things first:

From now on, I'm going to try to have a longish chapter up every Friday, and then a shorter chapter on Saturday or Sunday. I think one of the reasons I lose interest is because I don't have a set writing schedule. Also, I've change the title of the story to "When the Time is Right". The story is going in a different direction than I originally planned, and the new title seems like a better fit.

That's it for now. Keep an eye out for the next chapter. :)


	4. Talking to Beth

Quinn's mind was still racing as she pulled into the parking lot at the soccer field. Over the years, she'd imagined several scenarios of how she would be reunited with her daughter, but this definitely wasn't one of them. Talking to Beth had more questions than answers.Quinn couldn't stop replaying the conversation over and over in her head.

Quinn kept walking as she waited for Beth's answer. After a few moments of stammering, Beth finally blurted out, "I want to find my birth parents."

Quinn stopped and looked into her daughter's eyes for the first time in fifteen years. "W-why would you want to do that?" Quinn asked.

Beth was quick to respond. Look I love my mom and everything. It's just that ever since she told me I was adopted, I've been asking her about my birth parents and she hasn't given me much information. She says she'll tell me everything "when the time is right".

Just then Quinn's phone went off. It was a text from her soon-to-be sister in law Marley asking where she was. She quickly responded that something came up at work and shoved her phone back into her pocket. "Look, if your mom doesn't think the time is right, don't you think you should trust her?"

Beth shrugged. "I mean, I guess so. But it's not like I want to meet them right now or anything. I just want to know more about them."

"Well what do you know so far?" Quinn inquired, although she wondered if that was crossing the line.

"I know they were both in high school and that they were friends with my sister." Quinn nodded for her to go on. "I know they were in our lives at some point, but I don't know what happened there."

Quinn struggled not to cringe as she thought back to the beginning of her senior year. Beth was definitely NOT ready to hear that story. "Anything else?" Quinn asked.

Beth shook her head. "We used to have some pictures, but we've moved a lot, so most of them got lost in the shuffle. I do have still have this picture my dad drew though. It's some of kind of clown or pig or something," Beth giggled.

Quinn smiled. She wanted nothing more than to stay and spend time with her daughter, but she knew she had to rap it up. She encouraged Beth to discuss her feelings with her adoptive mom, and reminded Beth that her office door was always open before hurrying to her car.

Quinn wiped tears from her eyes as she walked across the field to where Marley was bouncing a fussy Isabella in her arms. She quickly took the baby, who abruptly calmed down at the sight of her mother. Quinn noticed that Izzy's smile looked just like her older sister's.

"Jake and Puck got stuck in a meeting," Marley told her, "where were you? You're never late for Liam's practices."

"I told you. Something came up at work. A student had an emergency, so I stayed to help them out," Quinn replied, not looking away from her daughter.

Marley smiled. "Your students are lucky to have such a caring counselor."

"Thanks," Quinn responded. She looked down at Gabe who was fast asleep in his stroller and gently stroked his head. She looked up just in time to see her oldest son score a goal and cheered as best as she could while holding a drowsy baby. Any thoughts of Beth were pushed back in her mind to be dealt with later.

AN: Okay, so this chapter wasn't that long, but this seemed like a good stopping point. Look for the next chapter sometime tomorrow. Read and review please! :)


	5. Dinnertime Chaos

Dinner that evening consisted of the usual chaos: Quinn struggling to eat her dinner and hold a nursing baby at the same time, while Puck struggled to get the boys to sit down and eat their vegetables. There was maybe a total of five minutes during the entire meal where everyone was seated at the same time.

Even so, Quinn enjoyed the chaos. It was the only time of day where her entire family was together. Quinn knew she had to treasure these moments. Her kids were growing too fast to take even a single moment for granted. How was it possible that her oldest son was now in kindergarten? Even little Izzy was growing bigger each and every day. She and Puck had agreed long ago that Isabella would be their last baby, but every now and then Quinn had an inkling that her family didn't feel complete.

Quinn was snapped out of her daze when Liam knocked over his glass of milk. Everyone had finished eating anyway, so she started clearing dishes while Puck cleaned up the mess. While standing at the kitchen sink, Quinn realized they were out of dishwasher detergent.

"I can go pick some up," her husband offered, "I'll take the boys with me so you can have a little quiet time."

"That would be great," Quinn responded.

"Anything else you want me to get while I'm out?" Quinn handed him the grocery list that was hanging on the refrigerator. "Might as well just go ahead and do all this week's shopping while you're at it." Puck stuck his tongue out at his wife before leaving her with a goodbye kiss.

Once the house was quiet, Quinn sat down to watch TV for the first time in what felt like months. There was nothing good on anymore, but it was nice to have some background noise. With Izzy asleep on her chest, Quinn responded to a few emails and checked the weather forecast. When Izzy started to stir, Quinn gently set her laptop aside and rocked her daughter back to sleep.

"Alright. Milk, check. Toothpaste, check," Puck muttered to himself as he went over the grocery list one last time. Once her verified that everything on the list was accounted for, he headed toward the checkout. Unfortunately Puck didn't manage to make it there without going through the candy aisle. Puck tried to back out of the aisle before his boys noticed, but he was too late. Within seconds of sighting their favorite sweets, four arms reached out of the cart, attempting to grab all the candy from the shelves. The ear-splitting tantrums that resulted from Puck taking the candy away could have shattered glass.

After nearly ten minutes, the boys had finally calmed down and Puck hurried to get to the checkout before the store closed. The cashier was young, maybe sixteen, and seemed very amused by the boys' antics. "They remind me a lot of myself when I was little," she remarked. Puck smiled and thanked her then headed for the parking lot.

With Izzy finally down for the night, Quinn took the baby monitor and went back downstairs. When she passed the kitchen she noticed the answering machine light was on. She walked over and played the message then listened as she finished cleaning the kitchen.

"_Quinn? It's Shelby Corcoran. Give me a call when you can._"


End file.
